The Phoenix Lander detected water on Mars during its three-month mission in 2008, and now it is being swallowed by the planet’s dust. The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter snapped the above two images, one in 2008 and the other in December of 2017.

Mars likely held flowing water during its ancient past, possibly even vast oceans of it. Most of this precious liquid escaped into space, but some of it stayed behind, transforming into ice and settling beneath the rocky surface. New research shows that a sizable portion of this water ice is surprisingly near the…

Facts are built into the fabric of the Universe, but science can sometimes be a problematic tool for establishing them. On occasion, even the most exciting discoveries can be overturned with more evidence.

Explorers hoping to find easily accessible liquid water on Mars may be out of luck. A new study questions the source of recently discovered surface water on the Red Planet, a revelation that may force Martian colonists to settle in the arctic regions where ice is plentiful.

The Curiosity rover was sent up to Mars with the important job of hunting for microbes on the red planet’s surface. Now, that job is done, and Curiosity is getting a new mission—and that mission is all about the past, and future, of life on Mars.

Mars today (despite the presence of a small amount of a liquid water) is a dry, frozen place. But this was not always the case. Ancient Mars was likely warm and wet, much like Earth. So what happened to change it? Thanks to brand new results from NASA’s MAVEN mission, announced today, we may finally know.

New data collected by the Curiosity rover shows that Mars was once quite Earth-like, featuring river deltas, lakes, and a warm climate. What’s more, the Red Planet may have been able to sustain liquid water at the surface long enough for life to emerge and evolve.

The discovery of liquid water on Mars is great news for would-be settlers, but we’ll need more than H2O if we actually want to live there. The only cost-effective way for humans to colonize the Red Planet is for us to start building infrastructure out of local materials. I’m talking rovers made of Martian metals and…

Everybody is so excited because NASA has confirmed that there is water on Mars. Really, no kidding, it is flowing right now somewhere on the Red Planet. The hilarious internet reacted to this important scientific news immediately, flooding Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, VK, Sina Weibo, and so on with witty images,…

Yesterday, NASA reignited our hopes of finding alien life when it announced the first direct evidence of liquid water on Mars. But before we start indulging in fantasies of space crabs and reptilian beings, we ought to remember that Mars is a frigid world with a thin atmosphere. And that raises an obvious question:…

Today we learned something new, and amazing, about Mars. But, although today was the day that the news was confirmed, it’s been in the making for quite sometime. Here, in pictures, is a history of how we finally found out that there really was water flowing up on Mars.

NASA just confirmed something incredible: There’s water flowing on Mars today. But what does that mean for life on the red planet today—both the life that may already be present, as well as the life we could bring by building a colony there?

After a weekend of rampant speculation, NASA has confirmed our suspicions: There’s probably liquid water on Mars today. The landmark finding makes the notion of life on the Red Planet all the more plausible.

Data collected by the Curiosity Rover suggests Mars once featured a moderate climate capable of fostering lakes of liquid water and even a vast sea, and that this climate could have extended to many parts of the Red Planet.

Evidence suggests that Mars had water flowing on its surface at various points in its ancient history. But the evidence also points to temperatures being far too cold at those time for water to be liquid. So, how can both facts be true? At last, this paradox may be on the verge of resolution.

Not to be outdone by Curiosity, the Opportunity rover has made one of its most significant scientific discoveries to date. A recent analysis of clay minerals indicates that neutral water once existed on Mars — water that could have been suitable for life.